Container ships “Made in America”: HD Hyundai and Edison Chouest Offshore have announced a partnership.
HD Hyundai and the U.S. company Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO) have announced a strategic partnership. The two firms plan to cooperate until 2028 to build medium-sized container ships. Could this mark the “revival” of American shipbuilding once called for by the Trump administration?
The agreement, titled “Strategic and Comprehensive Partnership for Commercial Shipbuilding in the United States,” was recently signed by both companies.
ECO, founded in 1960, operates shipyards at five locations and is one of the few active shipbuilders in the U.S. These include North American Shipbuilding (NAS) and La Ship in Louisiana, Gulf Ship in Mississippi, Tampa Ship in Florida (formerly Tampa Bay Shipbuilding), and Estaleiro NavShip in Brazil. ECO has built and operated more than 300 offshore supply vessels for transport, installation, and drilling services. However, the company has little experience in container ship construction.
Only three container ships in three years
According to data from industry service Clarksons, only three container ships were built in the U.S. between 2022 and 2024, each with a capacity of 3,600 TEU. These vessels were ordered by U.S. operators to comply with the Jones Act, which mandates that ships operating domestically must be built in the U.S., sail under a U.S. flag, and be crewed by U.S. citizens.
President Donald Trump sought to counter China’s dominance in key sectors, including shipbuilding. U.S. trade policy has since imposed port fees on vessels that are Chinese-built, Chinese-operated, or Chinese-owned. While U.S. shipbuilding remains limited in scale, the Trump administration has expressed support for partnerships with allied nations, particularly South Korea and Japan.
HD Hyundai to support U.S. Shipbuilding
HD Hyundai, the world’s largest shipbuilder, stated that ECO had initiated the request for cooperation. The two companies will work together to build medium-sized container ships at ECO’s U.S. shipyards through 2028. HD Hyundai will provide ship design, equipment procurement, and technical support– particularly for LNG dual-fuel container vessels designed to reduce CO₂ emissions.
A representative of HD Hyundai stated: “We plan to actively support the rebuilding of the U.S. shipbuilding industry and efforts to improve safety by working with ECO.”
ECO is not the first American shipbuilder seeking international cooperation. As recently as April, it was announced that Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) would also partner with HD Hyundai, primarily in the field of naval shipbuilding.
